Some 40 North Korean websites used for foreign propaganda go dark simultaneously... Chinese telecom line fault possible

[Financial News] Simultaneous access disruptions affected some 40 websites belonging to major North Korean agencies, including the Foreign Ministry and the Korean Central News Agency, for about eight hours. A problem with the Chinese telecom line connected to North Korea’s internet network is being considered as a possible cause.
According to Telecom Observer, a specialist network-monitoring website, unstable activity was detected in North Korea’s internet routing system on the 20th.
Access disruptions affected some 40 major websites using North Korea’s country-code domain, “kp,” including those of the Foreign Ministry, the Korean Central News Agency, Minju Choson and Naenara, from 11 a.m. until around 7 p.m. that day. Access was interrupted or unstable for about eight hours, and service had been restored by 8 p.m. that day.
Since many websites experienced disruptions simultaneously, a problem with North Korea’s internet network itself, rather than with individual sites, is being considered as a possibility.
South Korean security firm Stealien noted that servers managing the addresses of North Korean websites are concentrated within a particular Chinese telecom network range. The firm said that a disruption to that line or an external attack on it could cause simultaneous access problems at multiple websites.
So far, however, no concrete evidence supporting an external hacking attack has been found.
North Korea’s internet network has also been crippled by external attacks in the past. In 2014, after the U.S. government identified North Korea as being behind the Sony Pictures Entertainment hacking incident, North Korea’s internet network was knocked out.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyeok Reporter